In the cafeterias of the university of manchester, it will be impossible to find any food that would be appetizing while it's hot. Most on the lunch menus, they would serve things that are cheap enough and ready to eat. It would mean sandwhiches, paninis, soup or noodles. There are some halls that would cater other varieties but it isn't exactly delicious.
Therefore to those who do not prefer anything of those ready made meals, there are numerous places on the oxford road. There is the infamous Curry Mile just down the street from the university buildings, with numerous delicious eateries. There are cafes and bars like the one where I frequent often called, The Kro Bar.
It is a Scandinavian cafe as well as bar. It is located just opposite of the Student Union building, and next the to the international society building. The location itself is great, since hordes of student come by and go through this street.
It has a little outside seating outside the cafe/bar, where when there is sunlight (which is rarely) will be taken over by customers. The building itself is quite old like everything in Manchester. Something that you should find about Manchester is that they are quite proud of their old streets and buildings. A very charming trait of Manchester.
Kro Bar has stools lined up right in front of the bar, something you will see immediately as you enter. This restaurant prefers self service, so whenever you feel like ordering, you have to do so at the bar.
The space inside is crammed when it's during lunch hours and dinnertime. The table are these long ones that you have to share with other customers, and in between these tables the spaces are quite narrow.
There are more spaces upstairs and much more roomier. It does however have the old room smell, which isn't pleasant.
I ordered chicken and chorizo risotto, bruschetta and homemade toffee pudding.
The chicken and chorizo risotto, Chorizo is a spanish pork sausage. It can be salty because some chorizos are often cured or fermented which makes it very flavorsome. It can be spicy, depending on the amount of chili put in as well. The risotto was made sublimely, not dry, mixed with the chicken and chorizo, putting alot of taste into the dish.
The bruschetta was on a thick slice of bread, with olive oil, some herbs I believe to be basil and cherry tomatoes. The bread was put in the oven to reheat, and therefore the crust had a bit of a crunch. Nothing ever goes wrong with bread and olive oil.
My favourite dessert I think coming to the UK, is definitely toffee pudding. Toffee pudding is a traditional british dessert, served warm and with cream or ice cream. The cake is made of chopped up dates, baked or steamed. The one I had was served with the syrup of dark toffee, and ice cream. The cake was moist and warm, something that I really enjoyed, and the sweetness of the syrup is mixed with the cold vanilla ice-cream and the moist cake, had me with goosebumps. It is definitely a sweet dessert, something that should be considered when ordering it. I was barely able to finish the whole thing.
I do really recommend this place. Though the seating arrangements could use some work and the price is a little steep. The location is ultimately ideal, since you're able to get to classes quick with a full stomach.
Opening hours : 11.30 pm - 9.00pm
Location: 325 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PG
This is Sharon signing off this week's episode on The Makan Post. Stay tuned for more.
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Opening times are Monday and Sunday, 9am-6pm. Tuesday to Thursday 9am-8pm. Friday and Saturday 9am to 11pm.
